Memoirs of a Chota Sahib – AHSEC Class 12 English Chapter 1 

Here is a complete and detailed guide for Chapter 9 of the AHSEC Class 12 English textbook, “Flamingo,” which is “Memoirs of a Chota Sahib” by John Rowntree.

Note: “Memoirs of a Chota Sahib” is a chapter specific to the AHSEC (Assam Higher Secondary Education Council) syllabus and is not part of the standard NCERT “Flamingo” textbook. The following guide is prepared based on the AHSEC curriculum.

“Memoirs of a Chota Sahib” by John Rowntree: A Comprehensive Guide

This guide provides a thorough set of notes covering all aspects of the chapter to help you prepare for your AHSEC Class 12 English examination.

1. Summary of “Memoirs of a Chota Sahib”

“Memoirs of a Chota Sahib” is an autobiographical account by John Rowntree, the last British Senior Conservator of Forests of Assam. The excerpt provides a light-hearted and nostalgic description of his experiences in and around Guwahati (then Gauhati) on the eve of India’s Independence.

The author begins by describing his arrival in Gauhati and his first home, a bungalow on the bank of the Brahmaputra river. From his veranda, he had a splendid view of the river, the Himalayas in the distance, and Peacock Island. He mentions a local belief that if the channel between the mainland and Peacock Island ever dried up completely, it would signal the end of the British Raj.

Rowntree describes Gauhati as a “port of entry” to Assam, a place most travellers passed through on their way to other districts. He recounts some unusual events, like a tiger’s pug marks being found in his compound, presumably after the animal was washed up by a flood.

He then contrasts the North and South Banks of the Brahmaputra. The North Bank was a “vast, remote stretch of flat, ageless land,” a wild and strange place. He describes the challenges of camping there, such as digging for muddy water and the abundance of wildlife, including wildfowl, peafowl, and rhinos in the Manas Sanctuary. He shares a delightful memory of seeing a she-sloth-bear with a cub on her back. Travel on the North Bank was difficult, especially during the monsoon when rivers flooded and bamboo bridges were washed away. He narrates his experience of crossing a flooded river on horseback by hanging onto his horse’s tail.

The South Bank, where Gauhati was located, was more “homely” and less wild. The author describes his work in the forests of Kulsi and Rajapara. The Rajapara bungalow was plagued by bats, but the surrounding area was pleasant. His favourite place was Kulsi, with its comfortable bungalow and mature teak plantations. He notes that the local teak was not as good as Burma teak because the growth in the Assam climate was too rapid. He also mentions a rubber plantation of Ficus elastica (Indian rubber tree) that was no longer commercially viable.

The chapter is filled with vivid descriptions of the landscape, the flora and fauna of Assam, and the challenges of life as a forest officer in the pre-Independence era. Rowntree’s tone is affectionate and nostalgic, capturing a unique period of Assam’s history through the eyes of a British officer who clearly loved the land and its natural beauty.

2. Complete Textual Question and Answer Exercise

Here are the answers to all the questions given at the end of the chapter in your textbook.

Understanding the text

1. Give an account of the author’s experiences of the floods on the North Bank of the Brahmaputra during the monsoon.
Answer: The author describes travel on the North Bank during the monsoon as extremely difficult and hazardous. The rivers would be in flood, washing away the bamboo bridges that were essential for transport. The dirt tracks would become unusable. He recounts a specific incident when touring with his family, the monsoon broke early. The road, built on an embankment, became increasingly greasy and slippery. Their car eventually “slithered over the edge into a paddy field” six feet below. This led to one of the bumpiest rides of his experience as they tried to find a way back onto the road.

2. Relate the author’s observation on the use of mar boats as a mode of river transport in Assam.
Answer: The author describes the use of mar boats as the more usual, though “tedious,” method for crossing rivers. A mar was a ferry consisting of a plank platform laid across two open boats placed side-by-side. These ferries were propelled in two ways: either they were paddled across the river, or they were connected by a running cable to another cable stretched across the river and were propelled by the force of the current. The author notes that this ingenious device worked well but required constant adjustments to the landing places (ghats) to allow for the rise and fall of the river levels.

3. Give the author’s description of a sal forest.
Answer: The author describes the sal forests on the South Bank, which he found more “homely.” He writes that the forest, mostly of sal trees, was interspersed with villages and cultivation. It had more the character of an “English woodland” than a dense, tropical jungle. This suggests a forest that is beautiful and manageable rather than overwhelmingly wild.

4. Describe the author’s experience with bats in the Rajapara forest bungalow.
Answer: The author’s experience with bats at the Rajapara bungalow was unpleasant. He states that the bungalow would have been charming if not for the bats living in the roof. Their droppings were a “constant reminder of their presence,” and the “fusty smell of bat” was ever-present. He also describes the larger, fruit-eating bats with a five-foot wingspan that lived in a tree outside and would issue forth at dusk like a “strange host of ghostly shapes.”

Thinking about language

1. One of the interesting features of the vocabulary of English is that it is enriched by borrowings from a large number of languages… In this lesson you will find a few words that are borrowings from Assamese. Read these sentences:
(a) More usually crossings were made in a mar boat.
(b) Close to the bungalow was a large bheel.
(c) This was the home of the Assam cheetal.
Find out a few more examples of (i) Assamese words that are used in English and (ii) English words used in Assamese.
Answer:
(i) Assamese words used in English:

• Muga: Referring to the golden silk of Assam.
• Bihu: The national festival of Assam.
• Jhum: Referring to shifting cultivation.
• Namaskar: A traditional greeting (also used in other Indian languages).
• Gamosa: A traditional Assamese cloth.

(ii) English words used in Assamese:

• Car, Bus, Train: For modes of transport.
• School, College, University: For educational institutions.
• Table, Chair, Pen: For common objects.
• Doctor, Nurse, Police: For professions.
• Switch, Fan, Light: For electrical appliances.

2. Notice the underlined words in these sentences and tick the option that best explains their meanings:

**(a) The *pug marks* of the large cat were clearly traceable.**
(i) stripes on the body
(ii) dots or spots
(iii) footprints
(iv) scratch marks left on the body
Answer: (iii) footprints

**(b) The rivers were full of **mahseer.
(i) sand banks
(ii) large reptiles like crocodiles
(iii) tortoise
(iv) fresh water fish
Answer: (iv) fresh water fish (Mahseer is a large and famous freshwater game fish).

**(c) I once *forded* one of these rivers on horseback.**
(i) jumped across
(ii) crossed the river without using a bridge
(iii) swam across
(iv) crossed the river by using a bamboo bridge
Answer: (ii) crossed the river without using a bridge (To ford a river means to cross it at a shallow point).

**(d) It was an *eerie* spot where trees skeletons still rose out of the water.**
(i) very charming
(ii) causing a strange fear
(iii) noisy
(iv) very quiet
Answer: (ii) causing a strange fear (Eerie means strange, mysterious, and frightening).

3. Previous Year AHSEC Question Answers (2015-2025)

Note: As this chapter is specific to the AHSEC syllabus, questions might be less frequent in older papers compared to core NCERT chapters, but here are some representative questions.

Short Questions (2 Marks)

1. What was the belief about Peacock Island that the author mentions? (AHSEC 2018)
   Answer: The author mentions a local belief that if the narrow dividing channel between Peacock Island and the mainland of Gauhati ever dried up completely, it would signal the end of the British Raj in India.
2. Briefly describe the scene observed by the author from the veranda of his bungalow in Gauhati. (AHSEC 2019)
   Answer: From the veranda of his bungalow, the author had a splendid view of the Brahmaputra river and its shipping. Beyond the river, he could see the majestic Himalayas. In the foreground was Peacock Island, with the dome of a Hindu temple visible through the trees.
3. Why was travel on the North Bank difficult during the monsoon?
   Answer: Travel on the North Bank was difficult during the monsoon because the rivers were in flood, which washed away the bamboo bridges. Furthermore, the dirt track roads became extremely greasy and slippery, making them dangerous and often unusable for vehicles.
4. What does the author say about the importance of Guwahati?
   Answer: The author describes Guwahati (then Gauhati) as the “port of entry, so to speak, into Assam.” He notes that most travellers passed through it on their way to Shillong or other districts further up the valley, implying it was a crucial transit point.
5. What kind of reception did the author and his family get at the forest bungalow at Kulsi?
   Answer: The question seems to be a misinterpretation of the text. The text does not describe a reception at Kulsi. It describes Kulsi as the author’s “favourite” place, with a delightfully situated bungalow on a wooded spur above the river, surrounded by mature teak plantations.

Long Questions (5-7 Marks)

1. Describe the author’s experiences of road travel in Assam during the pre-Independence days.
   Answer: John Rowntree provides a vivid account of the challenges of road travel in pre-Independence Assam. The roads were mostly “dirt tracks,” which became unusable in certain weather conditions.
   During the dry season, the roads were so dusty that the surface was almost invisible under a cloud of dust, making driving difficult and the destination uncertain. He recounts hitting a hidden six-inch-high ramp built by road workers, which caused a considerable impact on the car packed with his family and equipment.
   During the monsoon, the challenges were even greater. The dirt roads on the embankments became extremely greasy and slippery. He narrates an incident where his car skidded off the road and fell into a paddy field six feet below, resulting in a very bumpy ride. These experiences highlight that road travel was an adventure, fraught with difficulties and dependent on the weather, in an era before modern, all-weather roads and vehicles like the Jeep were common.
2. Compare and contrast the author’s description of the North and South Banks of the Brahmaputra.
   Answer: John Rowntree draws a clear contrast between the North and South Banks of the Brahmaputra.
   The North Bank is described as a “vast, remote stretch of flat, ageless land.” It was wild, strange, and sparsely populated. It was a land of untamed nature, with rivers that disappeared underground and abundant wildlife like wildfowl, peafowl, rhinos, and sloth-bears. Life there was challenging, with difficult travel conditions and basic amenities like clean water being scarce. It represented the wild, untamed frontier of Assam.
   The South Bank, in contrast, was more “homely.” The distances were less, and the terrain was smaller, consisting of low hills and valleys. The forests, mostly of sal, were interspersed with villages and cultivation, giving them the character of an “English woodland” rather than a dense jungle. It was more settled and less intimidating than the North Bank. The presence of comfortable forest bungalows at Kulsi and Rajapara further adds to this sense of it being more developed and familiar.
   In essence, the North Bank was a land of raw, untamed nature and adventure, while the South Bank was a gentler, more settled landscape.

4. Most Important 10 Questions and Answers

1. Who was John Rowntree?
   Answer: John Rowntree was the last British Senior Conservator of Forests of Assam. He wrote “Memoirs of a Chota Sahib” as a light-hearted account of his time in Assam just before Independence.
2. What is the significance of Peacock Island in the chapter?
   Answer: Peacock Island (Umananda) is significant as a prominent landmark visible from the author’s bungalow. It is also associated with a local prophecy that the end of the British Raj would come if the channel separating it from the mainland ever dried up.
3. What made the Kulsi bungalow the author’s favourite?
   Answer: The Kulsi bungalow was the author’s favourite because it was “delightfully situated on a wooded spur above the river” and was surrounded by beautiful, mature teak plantations. It was a pleasant and scenic place to work.
4. How did the author cross a flooded river on horseback?
   Answer: The author persuaded his horse to enter the flooded river, then slipped over its croup (rear), and hung on to its tail. He used the horse’s tail as a rudder to steer it, and they eventually made a safe landing on the other side.
5. Why was the rubber from the Ficus elastica plantation near Kulsi no longer tapped?
   Answer: The rubber was no longer tapped because Indian rubber (from Ficus elastica) was unable to compete commercially with para rubber, which had become the dominant source of natural rubber worldwide.
6. What are the two types of bats the author describes at Rajapara?
   Answer: He describes the small, smelly bats that lived in the roof of the bungalow and the huge, fruit-eating bats with a five-foot wingspan that lived in a nearby tree and flew out at dusk.
7. What is a bheel as mentioned in the text?
   Answer: A bheel is an Assamese word for a lake or a large wetland. The author mentions a large bheel near the Rajapara bungalow, which was formed after an earthquake lowered the land surface.
8. What does the author’s account reveal about the state of infrastructure in pre-Independence Assam?
   Answer: The account reveals that the infrastructure was very basic. Roads were mostly dirt tracks, vulnerable to weather. River transport relied on simple, manually operated ferries (mar boats), and bridges were often temporary bamboo structures that were washed away in floods.
9. What is the overall tone of the author in this memoir?
   Answer: The overall tone is light-hearted, affectionate, and nostalgic. Despite the hardships he describes, Rowntree writes with humour and a clear fondness for the land, its nature, and his experiences in Assam.
10. What does the term “Chota Sahib” signify?
    Answer: “Chota Sahib” literally means “small master” or “junior master.” It was a term used in British India to refer to a junior European official or the son of a “Bara Sahib” (senior official). The title of the memoir reflects the author’s position as a British officer in the colonial hierarchy, but it is used with a sense of humility and nostalgia.